


The afterparty

by Juniperboy



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Love, Romance, sukitara mention, zukka mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25411993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juniperboy/pseuds/Juniperboy
Summary: A few weeks after Zuko's birthday party, Mai and Ty Lee have a heart to heart.
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 47





	The afterparty

**Author's Note:**

> //hey guys! This fic is a follow up to my "Zuko's Birthday" fic, so if you haven't read that I suggest reading it first before continuing on to this one.

Mai couldn’t stop replaying the day over in her mind. 

_ Sokka’s hand in his, Katara flirting with Suki, how happy everyone seemed...why can’t I be that happy? _

She and Ty Lee were strolling through Royal Caldera city, trying to get some shopping done. Ty Lee didn’t get much time off from working as a Kiyoshi warrior; when she was free, she preferred to spend her time hanging out with Mai. However, it seemed on this day they both were distracted while they perused the markets. 

“So...it’s been weeks,” Ty Lee began, not bothering to look up from the shirt she wanted to buy, “and you still haven’t told me  _ anything  _ about what happened at the party!”

Mai groaned. She knew Ty Lee was angry because Sokka hadn’t invited her. To be fair, though, he only invited Suki for his own benefit, to catch up with her. He knew that Zuko and Ty Lee weren’t super close, so why should Sokka have invited her?

“Listen, Ty Lee. You can be as pouty as you want, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna tell you anything. If Sokka wanted you at the party, he would’ve invited you himself.” She winced, the words sounding harsh even to her. Truthfully, Mai just wasn’t ready to talk about it. She didn’t want to talk about her jealousy or her...strange reaction to Zuko and Sokka being together. 

_ They’re just guys,  _ she furrowed her brow,  _ why can’t I...imagine them being together? _

She wasn’t raised knowing about homosexuality. Nothing good, anyways. Her family always pointed her in the direction of men, and she followed her parents’ wishes. Always. When she dared to look at Azula or any other girl, h er parents made sure it didn't become a habit of hers.

Her reaction to Sokka and Zuko wasn’t  _ bad,  _ per se, it was just…

She simply didn’t want to stay at the party long enough to figure out how she really felt about the two.

“You...you’re so mean!” Ty Lee glared up at Mai. She’d mostly become accustomed to the other girl’s harsh remarks, but rubbing it in her face that she wasn’t invited…

That was a new low for Mai. 

“Wait, Ty, I’m sorry.” She broke out the nickname used only for special occasions. “Here, I-I’ll explain everything once we’re done shopping.”

After lugging a pile of clothes, shoes, and jewelry back to Mai’s bedroom, they decided to have a fashion show. Mai was surprisingly enthusiastic about the idea; she’d do anything to distract Ty Lee from asking about the party again. 

“Outfit number three!” Ty Lee giggled, pulling Mai’s hands away from her eyes. Ty Lee was sporting a dark red jacket with a golden clasp at the front, paired with a black cropped shirt. She had also put on a pair of loose black shorts that had gold accents around the front of the waist. 

“I know that these are meant for boys, but they matched the outfit so well I couldn’t resist!” She stared down at her shorts.

The thing about Ty Lee is that she lived in the circus for most of her life. She had spent most of her days doing some type of gymnastics work, or physical training. Her legs and abs were extremely toned, and her calf muscles bulged slightly whenever she struck a pose. 

Mai was dumbfounded. She always knew Ty Lee was pretty, but whenever they were out in public together she was always by boys before Mai could get a good look at her. 

Here, in the privacy of her own home, Mai had too good of a look at her. 

“I really like it. Really, really like it.” Mai gulped. She couldn’t bring her eyes to meet Ty Lee’s; they were fixated on her legs. 

Ty Lee brought her hand to Mai’s chin, lifting it slightly to force eye contact, “are you feeling okay, Mai? With all of my other outfits, you were a little more constructive than that.”

“Yes, I’m fine. Uh...the red jacket sort of stands out a bit too much. You could find an accessory or something to tie it into the overall outfit.” She couldn’t help but shy away from Ty Lee’s touch, for it sent sparks through her skin. “Do you want me to go next?”

“Well…” Ty Lee grinned. She had been hoping to get Mai in a good mood by doing a short fashion show. Now that Mai seemed to be happy, she decided to broach the subject again…

“Can you pleasepleaseplease tell me about the party?” She opened her eyes wide, sorrowfully gazing up at Mai, before attempting to grab her wrists.

_ Spirits, was she always this touchy?  _ Mai forced herself away from Ty Lee’s touch before meeting her gaze.    
“Fine, I guess. Let’s start from the beginning.”

“So then I saw Katara and Suki like...flirting! ” Mai giggled. She had found this surprisingly more cathartic than she expected. Even better, Ty Lee seemed to be enjoying herself too. “They were both drunk out of their minds. So I said ‘what, is everyone gay all of a sudden?’” 

Ty Lee’s giggles halted and her smile began faltering. “Mai, I mean, I know that must’ve been ridiculous to see Katara...a-and Suki…” She couldn’t suppress a giggle fit, “...but don’t you think that could’ve hurt Zuko and Sokka’s feelings? You know Zuko didn’t just...turn gay, right?”

Mai could feel her chest closing up.  _ Of course she wouldn’t understand. She wasn’t the one who dated Zuko.  _

But when she thought about it, she hadn’t felt jealousy towards Sokka when she had snapped. It had been deeper than that.

“I mean, I guess…” She mumbled, turning away from Ty Lee. “I just, it’s a lot. Okay?”   
“I know it must be hard to see Zuko move on,” Ty Lee smiled, “but you’ll find someone else, I know it! There are plenty of turtleducks in the pond.”

“No-no I just…” She fumbled, exasperated. “...how can they be so... _ open  _ about it? And so at such a young age, too?”

Ty Lee thought for a moment, “well, I know they got married young, but--”

“That’s not what I mean. It’s...Zuko grew up in such a shit environment with awful parents who believed the same things mine did,” Mai tucked her knees to her chest, her back towards the other girl, “how come he can be happy now and I’m can’t? How did he just magically unlearn everything? What am I doing wrong?”

Ty Lee was dumbfounded. This was the most Mai had ever shared with her, the most she’d emoted in ten years. How was she supposed to react?

“Hey, hey…” Ty Lee cooed, her hand hesitating over Mai’s shoulder, “Zuko had Iroh, remember? And Aang, and Sokka...and everyone else to help him! You’ve mostly just had me, since Azula was, you know…”

Mai sniffled, trying her damndest not to cry. She hated crying; her parents forbade it. 

“I guess, but...I don’t think anyone taught him that being gay was okay. I think he just learned it on his own, and for some reason, I just...can’t seem to catch up”

A realization struck Ty Lee. She had tried to brush off any feelings for Mai in the past, though she never seemed to have succeeded. Once Mai got with Zuko, she figured that was confirmation enough that Mai was straight. 

But now…

“I think Sokka... _ helped _ Zuko a lot with coming to terms with everything,” she rested her head on Mai’s shoulders, recalling times when Suki had ranted about how embarrassed Zuko was of physical affection and how often he had questioned their relationship early on, “I can always help you out as well” 

Mai’s eyes grew wide as the implications of her words set in. A rush of emotions hit her, the ones from the party she had been desperate to block out. 

Jealousy of being that open, of being as unafraid as Zuko and Sokka were.

Anger at herself.

Longing for Ty Lee to have been at her side. 

Mai put her arm around Ty Lee before pulling her into a kiss. It still felt scandalous, as if she shouldn’t be doing it, but she felt more alive at that moment than she had while dating Zuko.

Mai grinned, her forehead pressed against Ty Lee’s. 

“I guess some help would be nice.”


End file.
